Saturday, December 31, 2011

Top 10 of 2011

Here are the most viewed posts from this year.  I've written a very brief description of each.

Dear Me- Five Years Ago,
I wrote my past self a letter from my present self. It makes me cry every time I read it, just warning you. (One of my personal favorites)

Pictures from the fire
A terrible wildfire went raging through our county. Several families we know lost their homes, my aunt and uncle, the pastor of our in-laws' church, my sister-in-law's parents and grandparents... and many more. 

I blame anyone but myself for this nonsense
One of those rambling posts.

Apple Pie
I made apple pie for the first time and posted my recipe. I hope it has helped at least one person be the star of the dessert table.

Posting 201
This is about D's 5th birthday. I mistakenly thought I had published 200 posts.

He has Amblyopia
D went to the eye doc... we got this diagnosis and he got glasses. 

Documenting the Drought
The drought in Texas is "exceptional", the worst label/level to have. (Contributed to the wildfire) Our stock tanks went dry and it looked like the middle of winter in the middle of summer. Everything was brown and dry.

My Friend the Sink
I wrote about how washing dishes by hand (since I have no dishwasher) has been somewhat therapeutic. (Also one of my favorites.)

Weekend Update
That one time I was feeling sick. My family is amazing.

Stop
I wrote it in response to a prompt and while the words felt forced, for me, the feeling is something I've been dealing with for a while.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

home barber






I don't know what that look is for;
I think it turned out swell.

 
this is the "model with an attitude" look


haha, I got you to smile!

only had to bribe, bribe, whisperthreat, bribe, bribe for thirty minutes (repeatedly)
he got a root beer float
(so did I
do did D
so did Rose)
because we survived it
yea!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Two

Our little girl is two today! We're celebrating very low key tonight and will have a party at a later date. I made some cupcakes and bbq chicken wings. (She loved the wings.)

mmm

 mommy's spectacular cupcakes


2 years
happy birthday Rose!





Tuesday, December 27, 2011

the Christmas post

The boys actually heard Santa on our roof on Christmas Eve! T and I were sleeping so we missed it, but he did come! He left lots of Toy Story buddies for the kids and dinosaurs in their stockings. (Um, Santa, that one stocking was so heavy it fell off the mantle!) Christmas Eve we spent at T's parents' house. We had fajitas and tamales for supper and then Pappy G read the Christmas Story from the Bible, we sang a couple of songs and then it was present time! T and I were gifted coffee (they know us so well). D and Ry made off with paint-able dinosaurs, cars, The Polar Express dvd, train set and lots of other goodies. Rose got a doll that walks with her, a purse (debit card included), some play veggies... oh, so many things! We had a great time.

Christmas morning we woke up with, "Santa came! Hurry come see!" so we went to see... The kids made the nice list. D got almost everything on his list and was so happy! Ry got Jessie (from Toy Story). His reaction was awesome. He had been asking for Jessie since before his birthday (April) so his patience was rewarded.


Rose got a doll stroller that she loves. I had my doubts about it being something she would like, but it is a big hit.

I got some pretty turquoise and pearl earrings from T. They are so pretty! I don't have a picture of them, but maybe sometime soon I will. I got him a movie that he opened Christmas Eve and we watched. (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in case you were curious.)

We went to my sister's house for Christmas dinner (lunch). It was so good. I stuffed my face. We had a great time and they pulled out tamales right before we left so I grabbed some and brought them home... yum, again. We all exchanged presents and lounged around. My dad built Rose and her cousin E (they're the same age) doll cradles. It is beautiful. He made them on Christmas Eve, stayed up until 2am finishing them. My mom made a little mattress, pillow and doll blanket for them. So sweet and you bet there will be some sentimental attachment there. 

he made them out of cedar

Yesterday we had a little vacation day. T was home and we went "shopping". We didn't find much, I got two books and we got the boys each something from Academy. (A football uniform for Ry and a polar fleece jacket for D.) We came home and made pizza and watched a couple of movies (Broken Trail and Bridesmaids). It was way past my bedtime (I think it was 1am) before we finally called it a night. (The kids called it a night at 8pm.) So, that's about it. Too many late nights in a row... I'm barely keeping my eyes open. I figured I better get this Christmas stuff out here before tomorrow or it'd be too late. 
 tomorrow holds another celebration...

Friday, December 23, 2011

snapshots from around my house


jingle, paid in cash and now I have some in my pocket

packages, not tied up with string

Festive- I like red, he doesn't.

I want some now, but I have to share

Rewarmed coffee with cocoa and milk...
perfect for this chilly afternoon.

and now I'm off, once again.

Have a good one!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

well... I guess it's random day

Yesterday evening I got my very appreciated trip (alone) to the store to finish up my shopping. I probably circled the store about five times getting everything on the list, but it's done! (I think! I hope!) The store was a bit crowded, as I expected, but at least I didn't have to worry about anyone else. The lady that checked out in front of me had her three kids, two helping with the cart of groceries that were probably 5 and 7 years old and a little baby in a stroller. She seemed calm and in control of things. It may sound weird, but I felt proud of her. I didn't even know her! As I waited for the mom to gather her things the cashier said, "She's got her hands full!" Yes, she does, and I know how it feels.

Today I'm supposed to make cinnamon rolls. I'm gifting some of them to various friends and family for Christmas. I probably need to make some more cookies to leave out for Santa on Saturday night, too. I need to get a roast out of the freezer and hope it thaws in time for me to cook it for supper. I will probably start wrapping some presents at some point today. As of yesterday we have one present under the tree. It's from me to T. The kids' gifts are all in my room and since we ordered them online I brought in two boxes last night when I got home that had been left at the driveway. The kids were very curious and asked if their Christmas presents were in them and I said yes, they were shipped from the North Pole from Santa so Mommy could help him by wrapping them. When Santa leaves presents on Christmas Eve they aren't wrapped. At least that's our tradition... started last year! Let's see if I can find a picture.

The trike and wagon were from Santa last year. Of course, so were the things left in their stockings (not pictured). That wagon really dwarfs our tree.

I guess I should get off the couch and do something productive. By the way, I just noticed that the Christmas ornaments have been rearranged on the tree. They seem to all be moving, very gradually, to the front and center. Competing with the angel.


Mister Gingerbread Man, what are you planning? The entire lower half of the tree is missing ornaments... except for two lonely ones hanging on the bottom branches. Very interesting.

Okay, gotta get going for real now. Rose is trying to scale the kitchen counter...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

lights








We have a little tradition with T's dad. For about 5 or 6 years now our town puts on a "trail of lights" that runs along the Colorado River and we get together and walk it. The kids always have a great time and it's fun having these memories with their Pappy G.



I think I need to make some more coffee... I only got one cup this morning before T took off with the rest in his thermos. I should've just made more to begin with. Lessons for learning abound and overflow lately.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

my morning- how not to shop with kids

I decided I would finish my Christmas shopping today. I knew I'd be going to a few stores that didn't have shopping baskets to throw at least one of the kids in so I called up my mama and asked if she needed to go to town. She said she'd go with me. That was nice of her. Our first stop I ran into the bank to get some cash. (you know, so I would have a set limit. I also forgot my bank card. whatever.) Anyhow, that went smoothly and I managed to grab D's (free) wildlife calendar while I was there. I also took three lollipops for the kids. (hindsight: should've gotten candy canes, they last longer.) I walked over to the first store and the kids were happily occupied with their lollipops for the 15 or 20 minutes it took for me to decide that there was nothing there I liked. Right at that 15 minute mark (as soon as the lollipop was gone) Ry decided he didn't need to hold my hand anymore, collapse into a heap when I took his hand in mine again and apparently his legs stopped working and he couldn't manage to walk. Now, at this point I was done with the store and we were going to leave. I also understood that this was immensely boring for him (it was a clothing store) and that he needed a little break. After 15 minutes. We made it out of there without major incident. I did pick him up and carry him out (mainly because I wanted out of there and he was being a handful about not walking). D was wearing a little halo and Rose was pretty darn good too. Although she was all about Neenaw (that's what they call my mom) and didn't want anything to do with me.

Our next stop was Ross. It is new to our little town so it's pretty nice. (I've been to some that are less than appealing.) I found a gift for our Goddaughters and a gift for my "name in the hat" person. I had three things and was done with that store so we checked out. This time Rose didn't want to sit in the cart that we had, so she was holding Neenaw's hand (I was, again, not wanted). Ry did the whole "I can't move anymore" pout with spaghetti legs accompaniment. Okay, so checkout line. The lady was really nice and I was done paying so my mom was getting her stuff rung up. I happened to turn to see Ry try to knock the "form a line here" sign down as well as the stretchy rope thing. He exclaimed that he had super power strength and started back to wreck some more shop. A lady eyeballed me. I grabbed him and this ginormous bag I had while Rose freed herself of anyone and started for the automatic doors. Now, at this moment I was thinking that there's no way that little magic sensor pad would open for a 25 pound-ish person... I was wrong. She stomped on it and the doors started opening so I grabbed Ry's hand, the unruly bag, and darted to Rose. She threw a very impressive fit when I caught her hand so I just kept on walking through the doors thinking she would calm down and no one would have to witness this "bad mother/bad child" scene that was rapidly unfolding. D ran outside with me (I guess he panicked that I was leaving) so all three kids are with me and Rose is screaming her little head off because I picked her up. Ry is making me practically drag him down the sidewalk and I'm still trying to wrestle this bag of Christmas cheer I just bought. Thankfully I got to the end of the sidewalk and very far from the doors (although Miss Lungs probably could still be heard inside). Oh, not only was she screaming bloody murder because holy cow, Neenaw is still inside paying and not in Rose's sight, but she is trying to run away from me. (I would've taken them to the car but I didn't have the keys) I gave the bag to D to hold, Ry acted like we didn't exist (which was fine with me at that moment) and Rose is flopping all over the place trying desperately to get away from me (doing the back arching to fling herself away from me), hitting me, and still screaming.... That was the longest 2 minutes of my life. (okay, maybe not, but definitely longest in this month and last month) More than embarrassing. This doesn't quite capture the intensity of the drama that happened. Just take my word, it was b-a-d.

My mom came out and we got in her car and Rose was still throwing her epic temper tantrum and Ry was still epic pouting. I had wanted to go to Walmart, where I knew I could get the rest of my things, but instead I told my mom to drive us back to her house. There was no way I was going to another store with those two acting like that. My stomach is still in a knot. I'm sure it looked like I was kidnapping my own children. I was way to preoccupied with them to notice anyone staring and shaking their head, though. I was very much on the verge of tears myself during the whole thing, but did manage to hold it together. To top it off I had to straighten out some payment that got screwed up when I got home making me feel even more in control of things. I might have shed some tears over this morning, but I'm hoping this afternoon is better after we've all had a chance to settle down or nap.
I love these goofy kids, even when they aren't wearing halos
 They really are good kids. I know it. They know it. Sometimes we just have a tough time. I think I'm calming down now. I'm starting to reason out their terrible behavior. Anyhow, I'm doing the rest of the shopping a-l-o-n-e. Sorry kids, I need some time to recuperate before I brave the non grocery shopping event with you again.

Later friends, thanks for letting me vent.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

the P.S. is more important than my weekend

Hi there. It's another Monday which means it's time for the weekend update. We got to see our friends, CLB and Holly (as well as our Goddaughters) on Sunday. I loved getting to see them again! Their baby, S, is just shy of a year old (she didn't remember me- big sad face) and she cried when her parents left to do some shopping and get something to eat. I finally got her settled down when I took her outside to watch the chickens run around. It was a little chilly for her so after about 10 minutes I came back inside, she was not thrilled at this turn of events, so I found some Elmo videos on Youtube and she was so content she fell asleep. I thanked God for that, because I honestly can only take so much of Elmo. (Although I will admit, I'd rather suffer through Elmo than Barney and (cringe) Baby Bop- I swear she teaches children the whiny voice.)

We gave S her birthday present and the boys showed her how to play with it (a shape sorting picnic basket) and then promptly took off with it to "have a picnic". They were begging us to let her open it and now I know why. (Clever children I'm raising.)

Of course, like 95% of all Sundays, I made pizza and we watched the Sunday night football game. I even made it past half time and watched it in it's entirety. It was a quick game. I was also preoccupied with reading funny websites and getting ideas about where to continue my Christmas shopping... so maybe I didn't watch it in it's "entirety".

Back up to Saturday. I can't remember what I did. Let me think.... oh, we slept in and I made pancakes for breakfast. I know, riveting information! My mind is drawing a big blank right now. I also made lasagna for supper. I don't know why I can't remember anything else except for what we ate. Oh well. I guess I just cleaned up and watched Ratatouille for the millionth time. T was helping CLB do some clearing/cleaning up so when he got home we ate and then watched Lonesome Dove. D said it was his favorite movie and I had a huge burst of pride from that. All three of the kids like it. D and Ry find their cowboy hats and pretend they are Gus and Woodrow and Rose says yeehaw every time there are horses on the screen (so, pretty much all the time.)

Friday night we all went grocery shopping. We bought Forrest Gump and watched it when we got home. (the kids didn't watch it all) I even bought popcorn for the occasion. I don't know when it happened, but popcorn is like a special treat for us now and I rarely buy it. I don't mind, it's one less thing to put on the list.

Well, I guess that's enough about us. I'm sure more fascinating things will happen to keep this blog alive for tomorrow.

P.S.
please keep
CLB's family 
and 
in your prayers. 

Friday, December 16, 2011

ten happy things

things that are making me happy today

1
Yesterday I was able to order half of our gifts with only a week to spare (and cutting it close for shipping deadlines). I still have some things to pick up in town tomorrow (or tonight?), but after that I'll be done. Yippie!

2
This morning I used the very last 5 cups of flour and am making a regular loaf of bread and a cinnamon swirl loaf. I've never made the swirl before and I'm hoping it turns out delicious. (My house should be smelling scrumptious in about thirty minutes.)

3
I am watching my nephew again today and he is just a joy! He is nearly always happy and laughs so easily. I've really enjoyed spending some time with him.

4
Our friends are coming to visit. I'm so excited to see them and our God-daughters.

5
Rose is sensitive to chocolate, so instead of her getting left out when it comes to making cocoa, I make her warm vanilla milk. It's just milk, some vanilla and a bit of sugar to sweeten it, warmed in the microwave. Delicious. If I were feeling fancy I'd steam the milk in our espresso maker and then froth it and add a dash of cinnamon on top. I'm kidding. T would have to steam and froth the milk because I haven't learned how to do that and don't plan on it. (He's made some amazing cappuccinos for me!)

6
It's been rainy out for the past several days which means the children, the boys in particular, are feeling cooped up. When my sister came to pick up T.J. yesterday they were practically climbing the walls. Then the Charlie Brown Christmas special came on and they were hypnotized for a nice stretch of time with that. I'm glad we're getting the rain and happy for old cartoons that my kids find extremely funny.

7
I'm happy that today is Friday. It's been a long week.

8
My gray, frumpy sweater. It's sort of ugly (I bought it while I was pregnant, so it's a bit loose), but I like it anyhow because it's warm.

9
A vehicle with four wheel drive. I'll never get stuck in my driveway.

10
Mmm... warm cinnamon swirl bread. 

Thursday, December 15, 2011

photos

I don't feel much like writing anything today. I'm also not going to "make it happen" because that always leaves me feeling disappointed in whatever I wrote. (I'm learning things about myself!)
Please enjoy these random pictures instead.

T.J & D, yesterday. (and today, as well)

from a walk in October. 

a few mornings ago while we snuggled on the couch

sunset from the back of a four wheeler

my very handsome three year old...

wearing my (way too big for her) shoes

that's all I have for now. 
tomorrow is ten happy things (or more, but not less)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

baby in the house

I'm babysitting my nephew today.


very cute. very talkative. very loved. very into eating his hands.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

moose and curling irons, but not together

Our kids got little plush animals in their goody bags at their cousin's birthday party... D got a penguin and named it Flappy. He also named Rose's polar bear, Beary. (I think... It could be Berry or Barry, but I didn't ask how I should spell it.) Ry got a moose. I thought D had come up with some cute names for the penguin and bear, he stuck with "characteristic" names instead of going for wild and "out there" names. I asked Ry if he had named his moose and expected to hear something like, No, just Moose. They haven't really been into naming anything, so I was surprised when he said, "Oh, this is Bean." Bean? 

So... meet Bean.
Cute, no? I love the name. I think it is so awesome that he named him Bean. I just asked why he named him that and I got, "Because he's a moose." Am I missing something here? I don't understand why it's so obvious that his name should be Bean. Feel free to enlighten me.

An acquaintance at the party asked me if I curled Rose's hair. (Remember she will be two at the end of the month.) I tried my best not to act completely shocked (this question has been posed before and I nearly laughed in the curious persons face) and just answered that, no, it's naturally curly. (I noticed their daughter's hair had a bit of a curl to it, but couldn't bring myself to question if it was natural or hot burning metal curled.) Do people actually curl the hair of toddlers? (By the way... I have heard of Toddlers and Tiaras but have never watched it- we have a whopping seven channels and three are PBS. I assume those crazies do that. Ooh, was that too harsh?) Anyhow, why would I take extra effort to curl my kids hair and not my own? Because I'm a selfless mother? No. Because my curling iron hasn't seen the light of day in over two years. The only thing that gets used is my straightener. (And only twice a month at the most.) I have resorted to pony tails and side braids (even though my hair isn't quite long enough for a nice one) or going all natural and letting it frizz and stick out all of the place. (I've never been particular about my hair... pony tails are my style.) I think Rose's hair is amazing. I wish I had her hair. (I had ringlets when I was her age which morphed into waves as I got older, now it's just a mess.)

I can see why they would ask me if I curl her hair. I've got the "three kids and no time to brush my hair" look and T's hair is relatively straight (and short). I can barely get her clothes on her so there is no way on Earth that I'd attempt to put a pizza-oven-hot piece of metal anywhere near her. I don't mind being asked if I curled her hair, but do I really look insane? Dang, she has some beautiful locks, though.

I am incredibly tempted to do something drastic with my hair now. Oh, don't fear, I won't do anything.
I never do.

Monday, December 12, 2011

our (sweet) weekend


 Let's start out with the weekend recap, shall we? Okay, Saturday we hung around the house and then went to the lighted Christmas parade in town. We were late to it, but managed to see the last half of it (and Santa). The kids loved it and Rose was waving to everyone telling them "bye bye". 

Sunday I hurried out to do some last minute grocery and birthday present shopping (for our niece). I took the Rose with me and we had a blast making circles around itty bitty small town Walmart. Our options were dolls (already has), Toy Story toys ($$$), Barbies (too young), plush animals (mm, nah). So I grabbed a penguin sippy cup (her theme was penguins and polar bears), a pair of (cute) pajamas and a skirt. While everyone was gathered we drew names for Christmas (the people we got were specific about what they wanted so it makes it tons easier!). 

Later we went to a dessert thing that T's dad had invited us to at his church. I think we were in sugar overdose when we left, but we had a good time. The kids were good for the most part... they were a little tired and 
kids+ sugar+ 60 minutes of be still & quiet!
  two of them had to be taken out. Actually, it was just the very loud, happy toddler, but after it was over Ry had a meltdown of epic proportions (according to T) because Thomas the Train was gone. (Apparently he saw him in one of the play areas and was gone when we went to look? Yeah, I don't know.) D was well behaved, as usual, always setting the standards way too high for his siblings to ever reach. (He takes after his mommy.)

We finally made it back home and sent the children to night-night land while T and I watched the Sunday night game. Okay, I watched until halftime and then tucked myself into bed. I don't know if T watched all of it or not. 

Well, I've been trying to be productive today and I must get back to all the little things that require my very divided attention. I am determined to get the laundry put away... there's nothing wrong with starting the week out with all of our clothes in their proper places. Such a dream. 
Happy Monday to you.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Dear UPS man,

Today is the second day (in a row) that you have stopped in front of my driveway. At first I racked my brain trying to remember ordering something. Was it a book? No, I already got those. Oh! I ordered that toy... wait, no I didn't. I haven't ordered a single Christmas gift yet, so I am intrigued and spy out the window watching you. You stop and then back up. Hmm... I assume you are trying to make room for people to go around you on our one lane county road. That's very courteous of you. I watch as you get up and then sit back down. (Yesterday you actually got out of the truck.) You must be getting your delivery list down to mark us off.

You seem to be moving around in the truck, although, to be honest, I can't see through the truck wall... Are you looking for a package for me? Has someone ordered something for us and shipped it directly to our house? That would be so surprising! An unexpected gift. I imagine what it could be... a play kitchen for Rose? No, probably too big. Maybe those fingerless gloves I've been eying? No, I don't think anyone knows I want those. Ooh, maybe it's a Southern Pacific model train for D. Those are hard to find. No, I doubt it could be that. Perhaps it's a new crock pot, I've been wanting to replace mine for awhile now. How thoughtful that mystery person is that shipped it directly to me. I bet there's a note in there requesting my new crock pot's first meal to be wings. Eh... it's probably not for me. Maybe it's something for Ry. Jessie from Toy Story? A new dinosaur toy?
See! You are standing up to get that package that is CLEARLY mine.
I am lost in thought wondering what kind of surprise we are getting and then I am shocked. You drive away, not even leaving a sticky note saying the package needed a signature. How dare you play with my emotions like that! I almost had Christmas presents! A crock pot! Fingerless gloves! New books! Treasures unknown! A briefcase full of money!

Wait!! I'll meet you at the gate... You never honked for me!
You are gone. I'll just pretend that you couldn't see the numbers on the post... or that you were confused with the name of the road... Perhaps you thought no one was home, I know, it looks like that a lot. It's our one vehicle situation, I'm sure it confuses a lot of people.

Perhaps next week, or even the week after that, you'll bring us something? I know that would be cutting it really close to Christmas, but I wouldn't mind a box being dropped over the gate. I guess I'll have to do my part and order something, though. I'll try not to let you down. You obviously are looking for that package with our address on it.

Sincerely,
The creepy lady that took a picture of you with her awesome super zooming camera. (Just be happy I didn't whip out the binoculars...)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

mainly because I was bored (the tree is up)

 Fifteen days until it's that day.

I am not exactly in Christmas mode, but because I have little kids about I dug out our decorations and artificial tree (like I'm actually going to pay for a real tree that will probably make me sneeze) and set it up. Last year I couldn't find our star and instead of buying a new one (they were ugly) my mom gave me a thirty year old foil star I could use. I don't know what happened but I took it out of its box and it doesn't look so good. So... we are starless until I find some spare change for a new one. (I don't like buying decorations... I use the same ornaments I bought on Black Friday in 2004 and the tree is 4 years old... still looking good, too.) Plus, for some reason people give us ornaments every year for the kids so our tree does get new stuff.

I have one Christmas item from my childhood. It's a wooden Santa sleigh that plays "Santa Claus is coming to town". Neat story on my acquirement of the little treasure. I don't know how old I was maybe five or six. My dad and I were driving back from town (around Christmas time) when he spotted a box in the road, he stopped and picked it up and we took it home. (It was not uncommon for my dad to see something in the ditch or side of the road and turn around to see if it was anything interesting.) There was a phone number somewhere in or on the box (I know we opened it) and we informed the people we had found their box of Santa sleighs and when they came to pick it up they let me choose one to keep since we had been so kind. I have cherished it ever since and I love having that memory.
I put it on the piano that is in our dining room. The kids love having me wind it up so they can listen to it play. (Santa's arm, the toys in the back and the reindeer's head and leg move up and down... very cute.)

The boys helped me set up and decorate the tree. When Rose woke up she said, What's that? (hey, she can say Christmas now!) Here's how her reaction went
If you look closely you'll see she's crossing her fingers... making a wish?


She was just a tiny bit excited. (that picture makes me so flippin' happy!)

Yesterday was such a nice day. It was cold, but the sun was shining so it didn't feel too bad. We walked to the stock tanks behind the house and there's water! Not a lot, but we have had some rain over the past month so they aren't bone dry anymore.


We had a lot of fun and for about 30 minutes I wasn't saying:

Don't touch the tree.
STOP touching the tree!
Do NOT crawl under the tree!!
Get that ornament OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!
I'M GOING TO TAKE IT DOWN IF YOU TOUCH IT ONE MORE TIME!

Because I did say all of those things (on shuffle/repeat) for thirty minutes before bedtime.

(I don't regret putting the tree up early at. all.)

Fifteen days, right? And then it's coming down immediately. 

(guess what? I've noticed they aren't as tempted to touch if I keep the lights off... Perhaps the tree has a chance to stay up after all.)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

and then I laugh-cried and everyone went to bed

Did you know I never need to look at a clock to know when it's 4:30pm? It's true. I always know when it's that time because my children lose their minds. When I had one baby I didn't believe in this "witching hour" thing. Until I got pregnant with my second... and D would need immediate attention right as I started making supper or doing anything relatively important. He would cling to my legs and cry and demand to be held. This trend has continued and I'm afraid it may have gotten worse over the last couple of months. I'm praying/begging/pleading with whoever is in charge of this hour to end this trend because I think this is about as much as I can handle. At least the upset/angry/everything-leads-to-a-fight "witching hour". (About 50% of the time the "witching hour" is just my kids being happy-wild. I am much better with that.)


Spider Man made an appearance last night and fell off his bed. I had just told him and his side kick, Superhero Flying D, to stop jumping on and off the beds. When I returned to my residence (the kitchen) I heard another jump, followed with a hard land, followed by scream-cries. I gracefully scaled some obstacles (maybe one of my other children) and rescued a crumpled Spider Man. I saw some blood (from the nose) and luckily my adrenaline was in high gear (because the nausea attacked when we calmed down a few moments later). I grabbed some tissues and typed furiously into the search engine "kid fell off bed bloody nose" and deemed him fine. (honestly there was more slobber coming from his blubbering than blood from his nose) He was back to being his normal self a few moments later. (Which means he didn't slow down for very long.)


Everything seemed to be better after I gave them a slice of homemade bread. They were quiet for about a whopping 3 seconds. Then they tried to negotiate eating their supper... we'll just have bread, this stew looks yucky. (It was delicious!) Then a little smarty-pants appeared at my table and told me to give him more bread or I'm gonna take your computer away. To which I replied with a you don't make the rules around here mister! He spent some time in his room.


Rose was giving me lots of grief because I wouldn't carry her everywhere. She has been running straight to me and grabbing my legs and I keep on walking/doing what I was while she makes me drag her around. She also bursts into tears any time I put her down, give her an option of graham crackers or cheerios, give her juice, or have to peel her off of my legs. I'm not exaggerating. I have to have something to blame for her crazy actions over the last several days, so I am about 73% sure she is cutting a molar. Or two. I tried to pry open her mouth and look but that's a difficult task and then I tried to feel for one, but the fact that she thinks it's hilarious to bite my fingers frightens me.


The boys (neither took a nap so I'm sure that was a catalyst in all of this) were refusing to eat supper, jumping off their beds, trying to have an excuse for an ER visit, trying to punish me for feeding them, telling me No and not listening. I sent a text to T that read Mind is shriveling. That was after I debated sending him this one: I've lost my mind a million times already! They are trying to send me to a padded room because I made stew for supper!! What did I do to deserve this?! I decided that was a little much. I didn't want to scare him too badly. He called a few minutes later saying he was on his way home and I must really be having a tough time since I texted him about it and I rarely do that. He was so sweet. I may have laugh-cried (which instantly requires a moment of mommy isolation/timeout or she is sure to only see her kids during Sunday afternoon visits in a private courtyard on the outskirts of town.) (That sounds like a nice place... don't be fooled, it isn't.)


T made it home and the house was extremely quiet which may have scared him a little bit. I was folding some laundry (while Rose jumped in it, totally making it pointless) in our bedroom while D was still sulking at the table and Ry had just decided to go on to bed. T was very good with them. He put in bed and told them a story (I don't know what about but I heard Once upon a time there were two little boys who never ate their supper...). Then we put Rose to bed and she was unhappy about that. After a while of her mommy, mommy, mommy-ing I went in and she tossed her blanket at me and I hugged her and said it was night-night time to which she responded with, I want Daddy! I let her have him. Then I inspected her gums and administered some infant ibuprofen (not a full dose, however) she stole some bread from T and then I put her back in her bed where she blew me a kiss and said, bye Mommy! wuv you! She plays the game so well.

Those evenings are hard, but luckily they aren't the norm around here. I guess the whole point of writing this out is to keep things real. I usually don't write much about how the kids were misbehaving or me hiding in my room for 30 seconds to just breathe and find a happy place... So anyone else out there having one those kinds of days- you aren't alone!

Thankfully, today is a new day and we can start fresh. Hopefully we won't have any mega meltdowns or serious injuries. It's supposed to be nice out so maybe we'll go a long walk this afternoon to get the wiggles out before dinner time. Maybe I'll grace the blog again later today with something a little more lighthearted... we'll see how it goes. Have a happy Wednesday everyone!